Safe With Him (25 page)

“Yeah, baby, it makes perfect sense.” He reassured her as he pulled her back to him and held her tight against him.

“What happened, to the sheets, I mean? After my bath the bed was remade, and then…well, everything else happened.”

“I changed the sheets while you were fixin’ your bath water, then the next mornin’ I washed them. Nothin’ for you to worry about.”

“Did they stain?”

“Yeah, a little.”

“I’ll replace them.”

“No, you won’t either.”

“What? Why?”

“The sheet’s clean. Yeah it’s got a stain and every time I see that stain it will remind me of the gift you gave to me. Only to me. Not replacin’ that. Not fuckin’ ever.”

“Dra.” She breathed him in. “That’s kinda sweet in a gross sort of way.” She smiled at him.

“Don’t give a fuck if it’s sweet or gross; not takin’ that from me.” He leaned into her and kissed her lips lightly, then hugged her to him. They stayed like that for a long moment, and then he felt her body tense up.

She sat back up and he could see the pain in her eyes. He knew she was again thinking about that bitch that should have been a mother to her, but was anything but. “Why? If my mother hated me that much, why did she ever keep me?”

“I don’t know, baby. I swear I don’t know.” He cupped her face in both of his hands, leaned into her and kissed her lips lightly, then looking into her eyes he told her how he felt about her name. “What I do know is, your bitch of a mother may have tried to make somethin’ ugly out of your name, but, baby, you, on your own, proved her wrong. You are
not
, nor have you ever been, an easy piece or a slut, and you have made somethin’ out of your life. And, baby, I told you before that I like your name. It’s fuckin’ beautiful. It’s almost as gorgeous as you are.” He kissed her lips lightly again before he continued. “She tried to take that from you. Let me give that to you. Let me show you how beautiful your name is to me.”

“You already do.”

“What?”

She smiled that little sideways smile at him, squeezing his neck where her hands still rested. “You call me Breezie a lot of times, when your…emotions are running high. Not sure if that’s the best way to phrase it, but you have called me that a few times when you’ve been pissed or frustrated at me. But, more often when we are… you know…intimate and you’re…you know…right there.” He wanted to laugh at the way she was struggling to talk to him about them having sex. So he would try and help her out and maybe take her mind off of everything else.

“When we have hot crazy sex?” he asked, using her own words, and she blushed.

“Yes, or when it’s hot but not so crazy,” she whispered as her cheeks started to turn a darker shade of pink.

“And when I’m about to come?”

“Yeah, then.” She swallowed hard.

“Are there other times?” He shifted them so they could lie together on the sofa.

“Well, when you…uh, you know, with your mouth on me.” Now her cheeks were red.

“When I kiss you like this?” He kissed her lips lightly.

“No, not there, lower.”

“When I kiss you on your neck like this?” He kissed, then lightly nipped her neck.

“No, and you know what I’m talking about.” She fussed at him with cheeks that were beet red.

“Yeah, baby, my mouth between your legs and me—”

“Yes, that!” she squealed. “Anyway, those are the times when you call me Breezie more than any others.”

He had to admit he had gotten side tracked with her sex talk, or rather her lack of, that he had forgot for the moment what they were talking about, until he shook his head as if to clear it and remembered.
Did I really call her Breezie that often
? “I do?”

“Yeah, even the first time we…were together, you called me Breezie, but when you say it…when you call me Breezie, it sounds different, pretty even. I can’t really explain it, but I kinda like it when you call me Breezie.”

“You sure? You don’t mind? You like it? Really?” He hoped so because damn but he loved her name.

“Yes, really. Although you say something else, before or after or a few times both. I just haven’t figured out quite yet what you are saying, but don’t worry, I will.”

He didn’t really think he was saying anything, but then again, he hadn’t realized he had been saying Breezie so much either.

They lay together on the sofa for a long while, Draco just holding Bree tight to him, until she drifted off to sleep. When he knew she was asleep he moved carefully from under her, then picked her up and carried her upstairs and laid her down on his bed. He sat there just watching her sleep, lightly rubbing her hair away from her face and down her back. She was beautiful. Every inch of her inside and out was beautiful. Because of her tears, he could see that the bruises on her face that she had been covering with makeup had almost faded away. The ones on her arm and back were also almost gone. But just because you couldn’t see them, he would always remember each and every mark that marred her body, and he would not forget who put those marks on his Breezie.

He was debating on whether to lie down with her and hold her or to try and get some work on the case together when the doorbell rang. He moved from the bed and across the room quickly but quietly, not wanting whoever was at the door to wake her up. Moving down the stairs the bell rang again and before he could get to the bottom of the steps whoever it was started beating on the door. He ran to it, jerking it open. “Can you wait a fuckin’ min—” he was saying until he saw who stood at his door. Then he didn’t say anything, he just drew back his fist and slammed it into Storm’s face, “That’s from me!” he growled as Storm’s head jerked to the side, and he stumbled back a step. Not waiting for him to recover, Draco drew back and punched him full force in the stomach. “And that’s how Bree felt.” He watched Storm drop to one knee and reach out with one hand toward the door at the same time Draco started to shut it.

On one knee, with one hand holding his stomach and the other hand flat against the door, Storm was trying to catch his breath and stop Draco from fully closing it. “I wanna see Ree.” Storm coughed out as he tried to stand back up, slowly.

“I don’t fuckin’ think so!”

“I need to talk to her.” Storm took a half wobbly step toward the door.

“Think you said enough.” Draco took a step to block him.

“Ree!” Storm yelled, trying unsuccessfully to push past Draco.

“Shut the hell up! She’s asleep, after she cried her fuckin’ eyes out.” Draco moved to stand back in front of Storm, continuing to block his way.

“Look, man, I know you’re pissed. I get it, but I need to see her before I leave.”

“Not gonna fuckin’ happen.”

“She’s
my
sister!” Storm barked.

“She’s my
everything
!” Draco shot back without a thought.

“What?” Storm questioned quietly.

“Yeah, and you think after you sucker punched her like you did…” Draco shook his head at Storm when he started to open his mouth in protest. “No, you fuckin’ sucker punched her. You might not have used your fist, but she felt it, those words you threw at her. Yeah, I caught her body when she took it like a fuckin’ punch in the gut.”

When Draco saw the knowledge of what his actions had done to Bree finally cross Storm’s face, he continued, “Like I said, you think after what you did to her, the fuckin’ pain you caused her, I’m gonna let you just walk right in and attack her a-fuckin’-gain? I promised her I wouldn’t let anyone hurt her again. After she told me what that bitch did to her, I fuckin’ swore to her, and I will not break my word to her for no fuckin’ body, not even you.”

“I’m not gonna attack her. I get you wantin’ to protect her, but I’m tellin’ you, I know her, if somethin’ happens and me and Ree end like this…man, it will break her. You know what’s goin’ on, she doesn’t, and you know there is always that chance of not comin’ home.”

Draco stood staring at Storm as his words registered.
Fuck
. If Storm didn’t come home it would not just break Bree, it would destroy her. He stepped to the side to let Storm in, but when he took a step into the house Draco placed a hand on his chest and looked him in the eyes. “That woman loves you to no end. She wanted to apologize to you. That’s not gonna’ fuckin’ happen. You make damn sure that doesn’t happen.”

“Yeah, she won’t. She shouldn’t. It’s all on me. I gotta make this right.”

Draco dropped his hand from Storm’s chest. “I’ll go get her, but I’m tellin’ you now, I don’t know what the hell you two were on about or this Lizzy girl, but you hurt her again—”

“I’m not gonna hurt her. Fuck, I can’t even believe I did that shit to her. That’s why I need to see her. Now.” Storm ran his hands through his hair to the back of his neck.

Draco could see the regret written all over Storm. He moved to get Bree, thinking that for Storm’s sake he better make damn sure he didn’t regret his decision. Draco was almost to the steps when he turned back to Storm. “Grab one of my T-shirts out of the dryer, then hit the bathroom and clean yourself up.”

*  *  *

Bree walked slowly down the steps with Draco holding her tight to his side. He had woken her up a few minutes ago and told her she needed to come downstairs. He didn’t tell her why, just told her to get up and come downstairs, then he walked out of the room and closed the door behind him. When she opened it back up, he was standing right there waiting for her. He pulled her body to his and hugged her tightly to him for a beat, then moved her to his side and with his arm still wrapped around her he started walking them down the steps.

They walked into the living room and to the sofa where he sat them down with her still pressed tight to his side. He hadn’t spoken another word to her after waking her, and she was just about to ask him what was going on when Storm walked out from the hall.

“Storm!” She tried to jump up to go to him, but Draco continued to hold her to him.

“I’m sorry, Ree, I’m so damn sorry. I should never—”

“No, Storm, I’m—” She tried to say, but Draco’s arm tightened around her.

“Don’t,” Draco growled low in her ear.

She again tried to get up to go to Storm and again Draco held her there beside of him.

“Ree, listen to me please.” Storm stood just a few feet from her, in the middle of Draco’s living room and there was so much guilt and sorrow reflecting in his eyes, she couldn’t not go to him.

Looking at Draco, she whispered, “Let me go, please.” She felt when his arm loosened from around her and she shifted out of his hold and ran to Storm, wrapping her arms around him.

“Ree,” Storm breathed into the top of her head as he wrapped his arms around her tightly. “I’m so sorry, little sis, please…I’m so sorry.”

“It’s okay. I should never have told you I was there. It’s my fault. I’m so sor—”

“No!” Storm said firmly as he pulled back and looked down at her. “No, Ree. You will
not
apologize to me. You did nothin’ wrong. You only told the truth. Never,” he shook his head at her, “never be sorry for tellin’ the truth.”

“But, Storm, you are blaming yourself for what happened, instead of blaming me. It’s my fault Lizzy—”

“No, it’s not, Ree, and I could never, will never, blame you.” Storm took a breath, looking up at the ceiling. “I think it’s time we talked about it.” Storm looked back at Bree. “But not today. It’s in the past. That can wait. Maybe when I get back, we can have some one on one? Okay?”

“Okay.”

“Okay,” Storm repeated.

“Come and sit down,” Bree told Storm as she tugged on his arm and led him over to the sofa.

When she sat, she felt Draco move close to her back as she turned to face Storm, who sat down beside her. “Now tell me what’s going on. Why are you leaving, and more importantly, why will you be unreachable?”

She watched Storm’s eyes move from her to Draco, at the same time she felt Draco wrap his arms around her stomach and pull her tight to him. Storm’s eyes stayed on Draco for a beat before they moved back to her. When Storm’s eyes met hers again, he told her, “I got shit to do, shit I can’t say right now, but when I get back, I promise you, I’ll tell you everything I can.”

“But this shit you have to do, it has something to do with that Hugo guy, doesn’t it?” Bree questioned.

Draco leaned into her close to her ear and whispered, “Baby, let it go for now. Just spend some time with your brother right now.”

Draco sat close to Bree, holding her to him the whole time she and Storm talked. For now it seemed Bree was letting it go and giving Storm the gift of her. She laughed with him and talked with him about nothing in particular. They sat and reminisced about this and that, but Draco could tell Storm was only bringing up good times they had shared. He knew what the man was doing. If something happened and Storm didn’t come home, Bree would have this. Her last memory of her brother would be this moment, and Storm wanted it to be a good one. Yeah, Draco got that.

About forty-five minutes later Storm stood up and announced, “I gotta go.”